Dean's Address

VI Socialize. One of our problems is that the bar is getting too large and we don't know each other. That has materially added to the civility problem. It seems that the civility problem is always caused by the "out of towner" or "the other guy."

"As the size of the bar increases, the more likely it is that a lawyer will never meet up with any given adversary in a second case. Without the fear of running into the same person twice, the fear of retaliation ‑ of being subjected to the same type of offensive conduct that you are giving out ‑ is eliminated. And with it, a major incentive for being civil and professional is gone. That's a sad commentary, but there is a certain truth to it.

Another explanation, which really consists of several combined into one, is what I call the decline in socialization among members of the bar. Attorneys no longer spend the social time with one another that they used to." 14/

One Federal Bar Journal reports:

"In the Seventh Circuit's urban courtrooms, trial lawyers no longer appear frequently against the same opponent or before the same judge, thereby reducing opportunities for building mutual respect and learning the ethics of an honored profession from seasoned hands. Today's metropolitan lawyer may deal with a particular lawyer, law firm, or judge only once in his or her career. thus, the incentive to retain cordial relationships often dies because the relationship is not likely to become an on‑going one". 15/

Please socialize and tell everyone in your firm to socialize. Go to Bar luncheons, committee meetings, judicial receptions, and the like. Make the bar a kinder group by knowing each other. It boils down to one simple concept ‑ it's easier to be nasty to a stranger than to a friend.

VII. SPREAD THE WORD. Brand ‑bad lawyers. Gossip. And if the bar is too large, and we do not have a sufficient degree of social and professional interchange, you have to spread the word as to who the bad lawyers are. Make hit lists. Warn your friends. Tell your friends who to watch out for. Don't tolerate the Rambos ‑ brand them!!!

"If we as a profession tolerate such an incivility attitude among some or our practitioners, we cannot expect greater respect from the public." 16/

VIII. ORGANIZATIONS. Join organizations that foster and teach civility. There are many of them in your community. I specifically refer you to the Inns of Court. Membership in the Inns of Court is a great opportunity to teach without the responsibilities of direct mentoring. You can reach 15 or 20 young lawyers in your community by working at the Inns of Court or any similar organization.

IX. WIN. Last, and hopefully not too difficult for all of you, be civil and win. Show them that civility and professionalism and success are not mutually exclusive concepts. Actually, they are linked. Civil lawyers are winners.

"The lesson here is that there is a Gresham's Law in litigation. Bad tactics that work drive out honorable tactics that work. The only solution for the legal system is to try to see to it that bad tactics don't work". 17/

Show everyone that civility is the trademark of a winner. Every time that you make uncivil lawyers lose, you score a big victory for civility. Every time an abrasive, abusive, hostile, harassing, combative, discourteous, hardball, win‑at‑all‑costs, take no prisoners, scorched. earth, Rambo lawyer, loses, it's a great day for civility. So if you don't have the drive or the ego to win for your client and for yourself, do it for the cause.. Winning, and winning the right way, is a great motivation for others to be civil.

CONCLUSION

If we follow some or all of these nine ideas, or any others that you have, what will be the result? It will be a nicer profession for our firms, our friends, our children and our grandchildren. Just as important, it will be nicer for us. If you spend a lot of your time being abused and harassed by Rambos, it sucks the joy out of practicing law.

"The problem with incivility in the legal profession is a love disorder, not a result of working too many hours. Listen to some of the other symptoms that are clustered nearby: the sense that loyalty is eroding within firms; the growth of a sick individuality that says we have to look out for number one because there is no security in relationships; a lingering feeling of emptiness despite material success; ‑the break‑up of long‑standing partnerships. All of these things have to do with what Sam Keen calls "a deficiency of passions". So what to do. Obviously a code of civility cannot rekindle our capacities to love. Rather, we turn to our symptoms for guidance. Incivility itself is pointing the way by directing us to citizenship and householding. The legal profession is suffering from a lack of oxygen, it needs air to fuel the combustion hidden in its heart. The outward move of reconnecting ourselves with the world can provide this missing component. Societal concerns, family affairs, matters of the heart ‑ these are the places to turn. We can't expect to do it all at once. Little things work best, like listening to a spouse, or calling up a friend just to say hello, or spending some time with our dreams." 18/

Or, if I may add, coaching little league.

I'd like to thank you for electing me as your Dean. The largest responsibility, of being Dean is to prepare and deliver this address. For one year I have devoted one to three hours every week to researching this topic. It has been the most enjoyable and educational assignment I've undertaken in decades. I thank you for giving me this opportunity

I appreciate the support that I hope to receive from those of you who agree with my presentation. If any of you disagree, I'll be pleased to step outside with you, and we'll settle this like real men.

1/ Sol M. Linowitz, "The Betrayed Profession, p. 228.

2/ April 1991 issue of Trial Magazine, Vol. 39, No. 5, p. 321

3/ The Virginia Bar Association Creed.

4/ Sam Benson 'Why I Quit Practicing Law", Newsweek, November 4, 1991, p. 10.

5/ 46 SMU L. Rev. 199,*206. January/February 1994, Craig Enoch. Incivility in the Legal System? Maybe it's the Rules.

6/ 94 Colum.L. Rev. 509,*Sll. March, 1994, Ronald Gilson and Robert Mnookin; Disputing Through Agents: Cooperation and Conflict

7/ Sol M. Linowitz "The Betrayed Profession", p. 208

8/ Federal Bar News & Journal, June, 1992, Volume 39, No. 5., P. 3002.

9/ 50 Md. L. Rev. 945, ‑962, Summer, 1991, Catherine Theresa Clarke, Missed Manners in Courtroom Decorum.

10/ Nov., 1995 New York Bar Association. Committee on the Profession

11/ Sol M. Linowitz "The Betrayed Profession", p. 128

12/ New York State Bar Journal, January 1996, Vol. 68, No. 1, p. 10, Louis P. DiLorenzo, Civility and Professionalism.

13/ The Miami Herald, April 5,1995, p. 2B

14/ New York State Bar Journal, Vol. 68, No. 1, p. 9, January, 1996, Louis P. DiLorenzo, Civility and Professionalism.

15/ Federal Bar News & Journal June 1992, Volume 39, No. 5, p. 304, Hon. Marvin Aspen

16/ Fr hm T Rev 949, *952, Justice Warren Berger, March 1995.

17/ ABA Journal, January 1996, p. 8, Vincent Cox, Letter to the Editor.

18/ The Florida Bar News August 15, 1994, Stresslines, Benjamin Sells